TiVo to pay $135 million for movie recommendation firm Digitalsmiths

TiVo will pay $135 million in cash for Digitalsmiths, a TV and movie recommendation company.

San Jose-based TiVo called the deal a "significant expansion in market opportunity" — Digitalsmiths has ties to seven of the top 10 pay-TV operators in the U.S. and works with several content providers and consumer-electronics companies. Digitalsmiths' services enable pay-TV operators to integrate search, recommendations and browsing features across platforms, such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android systems.

Durham, N.C.-based Digitalsmiths' transactions increased from 90 million in July to nearly 150 million in December, according to a statement from TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers.

The company, co-founded by CEO Ben Weinberger, is backed by .406 Ventures, Aurora Funds, Chrysalis Ventures, Cisco Systems and Technicolor. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Meanwhile, TiVo announced that it will increase its stock repurchase authorization by $100 million.